What it means
اقتصاد (eqtesad) means economy, economics, or thrift. The word is borrowed from Arabic, from the root ق-ص-د, which originally carried the sense of moderation and finding the middle path. In Arabic the classical meaning is close to frugality or balance in spending. Persian adopted the word and expanded its meaning to cover the entire system of production, trade, and finance, as well as the academic discipline of economics. You will hear it in news broadcasts, university classrooms, and everyday conversations about money and prices.
How to use it
- اقتصاد ایران این سالها خیلی سخت بوده. (eqtesad-e iran in sâl-hâ kheyli sakht bude.) “Iran’s economy has been very difficult these years.”
- اون دانشجوی اقتصاده. (un daneshju-ye eqtesade.) “He/She is an economics student.”
- وضع اقتصاد داره بهتر میشه. (vaz’-e eqtesad dare behtar mishe.) “The state of the economy is getting better.”
- دولت باید روی اقتصاد تمرکز کنه. (dowlat bayad ru-ye eqtesad tamarkoz kone.) “The government needs to focus on the economy.”
Cultural note
اقتصاد is one of the most politically loaded words in modern Iranian public life. Since the 1979 revolution, slogans, election campaigns, and Friday prayer sermons have returned to it repeatedly, often pairing it with the phrase عدالت (edalat, justice) to signal a commitment to economic fairness. The phrase اقتصاد مقاومتی (eqtesad-e moqavemat), meaning resistance economy, was coined by Supreme Leader Khamenei as a framework for managing international sanctions and encouraging domestic self-sufficiency. Knowing this word at B1 level is practically essential for anyone reading Iranian newspapers or following news about the region.